High School Matters
by fanficz
Summary: Helga is an unnoticed girl in high school that always fails to get the attention of her beloved, Arnold, but a new, handsome student seems to give Helga a lot of attention. Will this finally get Arnold to notice Helga?
1. Chapter 1

HELGA! HELGA! HEELLLLL-GAAAAA!

"WHAT DO YOU WANT, OLGA!" Helga yelled back.

"Breakfast is ready baby-sister, come downstairs," Olga replied in her high-pitched, sugary-sweet voice.

"Coming.." Helga groaned in a barely audible tone. Her hair was all messy from tossing and turning last night and she was still wearing her pajamas. She walked lazily down the stairs and headed into the kitchen. The pleasant aroma of blueberry pancakes and sweet syrup welcomed her. She looked over at the dining table. Bob was reading the daily newspaper and showering Olga with compliments about how lucky he was to have such a lovely daughter, while Miriam was fiddling with her fork and staring down at the table. _Typical_, Helga thought. She took a seat in an empty chair and laid her head down on the table. It was 6:15 in the morning, and she could barely open her eyes. She had trouble sleeping last night, and as much as she hated to admit it, it was because she was starting her senior year of high school. She didn't understand why she was even nervous.. She had already survived 3 years of high school by being surrounded by a bunch of morons..why was this year different?

"Oh there you are baby-sister!" Olga exclaimed as she handed Helga a cup of hot, French vanilla coffee.

Helga lifted the cup up to her nose and inhaled the smell strong coffee to wake herself up. Olga set a plate of blueberry pancakes in front of her and poured some sticky syrup on top of it.

"Well baby-sister, from today you start your senior year of high school. I can't believe how quickly time has passed..you must be super excited, no?" she asked with a huge grin on her face, exposing a set of white teeth.

"Mehh..not really. It's like every other year." Helga replied, after taking a sip of her coffee.

"Oh come on! Senior year is the most exciting year! Aren't you excited to apply for colleges? I remember my senior year," Olga said with a dreamy look on her face. Helga thought she was having a flashback so she just rolled her eyes and continued eating.

"Anyways, eat up baby-sister, you don't want to be late for your first day of _senior _year." Olga was definitely way more excited than Helga was.

After Helga finished her breakfast, she rinsed her plate, put it in the dishwasher and hurried upstairs. She brushed her teeth and washed her face and headed into her closet. _All the girls are probably going to show up in skirts and dresses_, she thought to herself. Helga was definitely not the type to dress up and get dolled up so she opted for a pair of dark faded jean capris and a short-sleeved maroon blouse that somewhat complemented her body. She then combed her hair and tossed it in a ponytail. Her hair was usually in a messy, loose ponytail, but since today was the first day of school she decided to make it a little neater. She let her short side bangs slip out of the ponytail. After she was done, she headed for the mirror to examine herself. She realized that she had bags under her eyes, _probably from the lack of sleep I got last night_, she thought to herself. She took a peachy concealer and applied it under her eyes and curled her eyelashes to make herself look more awake. She smacked some cherry lip balm on her lips and looked at herself again. She didn't look _amazing _but she looked presentable which was good enough. She double-checked her backpack to make sure she had everything that she needed even though Olga had helped her organize it the night before with her books and school supplies. After she was done, she slung her backpack over her shoulders and hurried downstairs to grab her car keys.

"Are you looking for your keys?" Olga asked.

"Yes," Helga replied. "I know I left them on the kitchen counter. Have you seen them?"

"Actually, I was thinking that maybe I could drop you off to school today since it is your first day..and um..you might be nervous and what not. So is that okay with you? Pleaseee.." Olga had on a puppy-dog face, which would've been hard for anyone else to resist and say no to, but the only reason why Helga agreed to her offer was because she knew Olga would win and end up driving her to school anyways so why even bother wasting time and arguing.

"Yeah sure why not." Helga had an annoyed expression on her face.

"Why do you look unhappy baby-sister You should be ecstatic! You are finally a S-"

Helga cut her off, "A senior I know...You don't have to repeat that over and over again..can we just go.."

Olga looked at Helga and smiled, "Sure, let me get my keys."

Helga hopped into the passenger seat of Olga's silver BMW. Helga's 2004 Ford SUV could never compare to it. Olga grabbed her shades and pressed engine start.

"You know you look kind of nervous." Olga looked concerned.

"I'm not.." Helga mumbled underneath her breath.

"You know I was nervous to on my first day of senior year..it was so nerve-wrecking because it was the _last _year of high school and everyone would be moving on with their life after that..I was soo heartbroken when I had to say goodbye to my friends..it was terrible.." For the remainder of the car ride Olga told stories about her senior year even though Helga was barely listening. She would've rather walked to school rather than listen to Olga blabbing about her high school experience. Once they pulled up to the campus Helga was relieved, but that was until she saw what all the other girls were wearing. Most of them were dressed in short pencil skirts, dresses, and tight tops with fancy sandals and heels just like how she imagined. The majority of the girls had their hair down and carried name brand totes. The guys even made an effort to look good. Some wore dark khakis with a button down shirt while others wore jeans with polos and a matching hat, and some even mix-matched. Helga definitely felt undressed.

"Helga everyone looks great! Oh my god, the girls look soo pretty!" Olga exclaimed in a shrilled tone.

"More like _skanks.._" Helga mumbled.

"Helga! stop being such a grump..they're just making the most of their high school experience..if anything, you should've dressed up a little today, too. " Olga had a stern look on her face.

"For what occasion! it's just another year of stupid high school!" Helga yelled.

Olga let out a sigh. "Just loosen up a bit try to enjoy your last year baby-sister."

"Yeah whatever.." Helga flung her backpack behind her shoulder and opened the door to Olga's BMW. She could see some kids staring at Olga's car and admiring it, and she even heard a few guys say.._damn what a ride._

"Have fun baby-sister!" Olga screamed through the open window.

Helga gave Olga a slight reassuring smile and then continued to toward the front door of the school entrance, until a group of juniors approached her and said, "Damn Pataki, is that your sister? She is fineeee…"

"Why don't you guys go tell her that, losers.." she said as she shoved passed them. She could hear the guys saying, "what's her deal?" as she was walking. Helga wasn't really considered a bully anymore, although she also wasn't the most pleasant person to be around either. She still maintained her friendship with Phoebe, which was the only person she even bothered to associate with. Helga wasn't really popular amongst guys, because they didn't consider her to be _hot_ or _sexy _like the other girls, but the more practical reason was because Helga never tried or bothered to keep up with her appearance to impress anyone. She was pretty tall for a girl, about 5'7 and had a slender body type. She had pale, clear milky skin and long blonde hair that was always tied in a ponytail. Thankfully, she ditched unibrow her sophomore year after Olga helped her wax it. Overall, Helga was simple and natural.

As Helga opened the door to the entrance, she was nearly knocked over by a group of students. Everyone was so loud and accelerated. There was so much going on..Helga found the liveliness more like disturbance rather than excitement. _Well Helga girl..get ready for another shitty year with these morons, _she thought to herself.

She saw Eugene standing on top of a chair and yelling, "Guys don't forget to grab you schedules in the cafeteria!"

"I can't believe that idiot hasn't fell off yet.." she said to herself. But then Eugene lost his balance and fell head first to the ground. He squealed in pain. "Then again, I spoke waaay too soon."

Helga walked towards the cafeteria to get her schedule. There where ten tables lined up and organized alphabetically. She went to the table that was marked "P-S" and waited in line. As she was waiting she also saw Lila and Arnold in line. She gasped in terror. Lila and Arnold had a _thing, _but they were basically dating. Little Ms. Perfect was wearing a white, flowy summer dress that complemented her thin figure. Her shiny, long auburn hair was in loose curls, and it cascaded behind her back. Her skin was flawless. Helga had to admit that Lila looked amazing, but her attention was diverted when she saw Arnold. Arnold was wearing light blue jeans and a baby-blue button down shirt with white, horizontal stripes. He was also wearing a white, braided wristband. She noticed that he had gotten extremely tan over the summer. His green eyes looked like emeralds against his tan complexion, and his teeth looked whiter than ever. Arnold had grown out of his football-shaped head. His blonde hair was a little shorter now. He looked like a _California boy_ with his tan skin and bleached hair. He was much taller now, about 6 feet and on top of that he was fit. He had toned biceps and abs that made girls go wild. Arnold was considered one of the hottest guys in Hillwood High. Helga still had deep feelings for Arnold, although she stopped worshipping him and reciting monologues about him to herself, she still adored him, but she couldn't do anything about it because he only had eyes for Ms. Perfect, also known as, Lila Sawyer. The two were laughing and flirting ferociously. Helga tried to ignore it and conceal her feelings the best she could but deep down she was burning with jealousy, anger, and sadness. She tried to hide herself in crowd so that Arnold wouldn't notice her and ask her about her summer, but then who was she kidding, why would Arnold notice her when he was around Ms. Perfect. _How could he like her, she has no substance,_ she thought to herself.

After it was her turn in the line, the teacher at the table asked Helga for her last name. "Pataki" she answered. The teacher moved over to the stash of schedules that were labeled _P _and looked for the last name Pataki. After she found it, she gave it to Helga and said _good luck_. Helga tried her best to crack a friendly smile at her and then left. She glanced at her schedule. She had taken a lot of AP's this year since she was a senior and she wanted to impress her desired colleges. Her first class was Government, which was a required senior class, so she was positive that there were going to be several unambitious morons in that class. Helga folded the schedule and put it in her pocket and went straight to her locker. The halls were extremely crowed, which annoyed her. She wanted to look for Phoebe, but she didn't know where she could be right now.._Probably with Geraldo, _she thought. Phoebe and Gerald started dating freshman year and they were still going strong. Phoebe and Gerald's relationship was one of the reasons why her and Arnold still kept in touch. All four of them would occasionally hangout and go to the movies. Helga and Arnold weren't _very_ close, but they would have occasional conversations, and since they were both older now, they got along better.

Helga slammed her locker shut and headed for room 218 where her government class was held. She went upstairs to the second floor and noticed that the hall was packed. There was some sort of commotion. Helga pushed and shoved through the crowd to see what was going on, but all she saw what Rhonda Lloyed in the middle of the hallway. She was showing everyone her new Prada bag, which was apparently _really_ expensive. Rhonda's physical appearance had changed slightly. She still had a short bob, but it was styled different, and it looked more chic now. She was taller and curvier now but that was about it. Her personality was still the same..She was still the self-proclaimed fashion queen.

Helga moved toward Rhonda and said, "Alright princess you're holding everyone up..this isn't a runway."

"Excuse me Helga but this is an exclusive limited edition bag I bought while I was vacationing in France, but then again, you wouldn't understand the value of it." Rhonda looked slightly annoyed.

_Some things just don't change_, Helga thought. "Yeah whatever." Helga said back. She decided that arguing with Rhonda would be worthless so she just continued walking to her class.


	2. Chapter 2

Helga opened the door to her government class. She realized that she was a little too early for class. The class was very quiet and empty. Well _almost _empty. There were two students in the back corner trading pokemon cards; well at least they looked like pokemon cards to Helga. One guy had pitch-black hair and was wearing glasses while the other had light blonde hair. They didn't seem to notice her, but it wasn't a new thing for her since she was already used to being _unnoticed. _She took a seat in an empty desk in the middle row and took out a notebook and a pencil. _Where is the stupid teacher_, she thought to herself. _Even the teacher has somewhere to be right now.._

After ten minutes the teacher entered, along with a few other students. The teacher's name was Mr. Hodgkins. He was pulling a metal cart filled with piles of books that said _government._

"Well, looks like we still have to wait for a few more students before we can begin class." Mr. Hodgkins said, as he looked around the classroom.

After eight minutes, more students entered. Helga was thinking about whether her and Phoebe would still have class together this year, but her thoughts were interrupted after Lila Sawyer pushed open the door and entered the classroom. Her hair flowed perfectly over her shoulder. _Where the hell did the wind come from, _Helga questioned. She gracefully walked over to an empty desk that was two rows away from Helga's and took a seat.

Oh myy gawwdd, Lilaa! You have gov A period too?" Stila shrilled. Stila was one of Lila's close friends and she was also very flirtatious. She had long, wavy dark brown hair with gold highlights that pretty much covered her back. Her thick, dark brows framed her bright hazel eyes that were slanted a bit downward which sort of made her look like a puppy. Her features were both sharp and soft at the same time. She also had deep dimples, which made her look adorable.

"Lilaaa! Oh my god! This is great..you, me and Stila are all together in the same class!" Haley let out a little girly squeal after her comment. Haley was also one of Lila's close friends and she was quite pretty too, except she was a huge _slut. _Haley had pin straight blonde hair and small green eyes. Her eyelashes were clumped together with mascara but for some reason, she seemed to pull it off. Haley was cute and petite. She basically worshipped Lila.

"Oh this is ever so great..this is year is going to be the effin best!" Lila was loosening up her curls with her fingers while she was conversing with her friends. Lila wasn't exactly _mean_ but she definitely had a more aggressive, manipulative side to her.

_Oh great, I have little Ms. Perfect in this class along with her stupid posse, _Helga thought to herself. Thankfully, government was only a semester class, which meant Helga would only have to deal with these idiots for 3 and half more months which was going to seem like _forever._

After everyone was organized and seated, Mr. Hodgkins went up to the front of the room. He had a stack of yellow flashcards in his hands. He cleared his throat and said, "Good morning seniors! Welcome to your government class..before we get started I would like you all to pick up a book from the cart and grab a yellow flashcard..on the flashcard, I want you to write your name, the issued date of the book, your book number, and the condition that it's in. I will come around shortly to collect your cards." With that he went over to the back of the room to his desk.

Helga went up to the front and grabbed a book and a flashcard and went back to her seat. She wrote her name, the date, and her book number which was 25, and since the book was in pretty good condition, she wrote _new._ While she was waiting for her teacher to come around, she opened the book and scanned through the pages to see what she would be learning this semester. _I so don't want to be here,_ she thought to herself.

Someone was knocking on the door, so Mr. Hodgkins went up to open it.

Mr. Hodgkins was standing in the doorway talking to someone. Helga recognized the voice..it was principle Wartz's. Principle Wartz had transferred to Hillwood High during Helga's junior year. She heard Mr. Hodgkins saying, "oh that's great..no problem..he will do just fine.." _Who is he talking about, _Helga thought.

She decided to ignore the whole thing and continue looking through the book, until she heard Mr. Hodgkins shut the door and say, "Class we have a new student.." All eyes fluttered towards the front of the room. Standing next to him was a tall, lean male that had a natural looking, mischievous smile on his face and a great posture. He had dark brown tousled hair and a fair complexion. His angular face was symmetrical with high cheekbones and a strong jaw. Helga thought that he looked like some sort of French supermodel. "Class this is Keith.." Mr. Hodgkins continued. "He came all the from Ohio, and from what I've heard, he's an excellent student."

"Thank you, I'm flattered." Keith flashed a bright smile at Mr. Hodgkins. Helga could notice his dimples all the way from where she was sitting. The dimples made him look slightly less fierce. His voice was deep and raspy. _Oh brother,_ Helga thought, _another idiotic pretty boy to add to this stupid, preppy committee. Pretty boy_ would've been an understatement for this new mysterious looking student because he seemed classier and better mannered than the other guys in school. He even had a sense of style. He was wearing dark khakis with a Burberry belt, dark polished shoes, and a white shirt with a short-sleeved grey cardigan. Helga looked around the classroom to see how everyone else was reacting to this new student. Everyone in the classroom was staring at him..even the guys. No one seemed to blink. The girls were mesmerized over him. Even little Miss Lila couldn't keep her eyes off him.

"I hope all of you will be nice to Keith and show him around the school because being a new student is quite stressful, am I right?" Mr. Hodgkins was nudging Keith's arm with his elbow.

"Ofcourse," Keith agreed. "It's terrifying." Keith laughed a little. Despite what he said, he seemed pretty confident.

"Well you don't have to worry because you're surrounded by a group of friendly students..anyways, why don't you take a seat, Keith. There's an empty desk near the young lady with the maroon shirt..young lady what's your name?" Mr. Hodgkins asked.

"Helga." Helga replied._ Fabulous..he has to sit right next to me..the idiot could've done the new guy a favor by putting him next his pathetic fan girls..he would've had a head start with his future crowd._

"Helga would you please raise your hand.." Mr. Hodgkins asked politely. Helga unwillingly raised her hand. Keith smiled and walked toward the empty desk next to her. "Hold on Keith..before you sit down, grab a book from the cart." Mr. Hodgkins grabbed a flash card from the front desk and gave it to Keith. "Write your name, the date, your book number, and the condition of the book."

Keith smiled and said, "Thanks, sir." _Sir, _Helga thought,_ damn, this guy is a total suck-up._ Keith started walking toward the desk next to her. Helga couldn't help but to notice his perfect posture. Before he sat down, he caught Helga looking at him so he smiled at her and said "hi." _Whoa this idiot is actually acknowledging me_, Helga thought to herself,_ well I guess I'll cut him some slack since he's new,_ and with that Helga gave him a slight smile. She could hear all the girls whispering and saying, "oh my god, he's a greek god".."he's soo hot".."yummmyy." Keith wasn't really paying attention to them, even though the whispers were loud enough for him to hear. Instead, he was filling out his yellow flashcard.

After 5 minutes Mr. Hodgkins came around to collect the flashcards. As he was collecting the flashcards, Keith looked at Helga and asked, "So have you been living in Hillwood for your whole life?" Helga was confused. _Is he talking to me?_

She looked at him and replied, "pshtt..pretty much."

"Yeah it seems like an _interesting _place." Keith was staring at the ceiling.

_Why is he talking to me..probably because he doesn't know anyone else and he has no other choice. Once Lila's posse gets ahold of him he won't even think about talking to me..asshole, _but her thoughts were interrupted after Mr. Hodgkins clapped his hands to get everyone's attention towards the front of the room.

For the remainder of the class period he talked about his classroom requirements and expectations and went over the syllabus he had passed out. It was 6 pages long. _Oh man.._Helga thought. After she heard some students unzipping their backpacks and putting away their papers Helga looked at the clock. There was only two more minutes left of class. While she was putting away her things and taking out her schedule from the back pocket of her capris, she felt a soft tap on her shoulder. It was Keith. _What does he want?_ She thought.

"Hey, it's Helga right?" Keith asked, squinting one of his eyes. His eyes were a very intriguing color. A mix of dark green and a light honey color. She decided that they were hazel.

"Yes." She replied. _Wow he remembered my name..that's a first._

"Well since I'm new..I kind of need help finding my next class..It's room 336. Do you have any idea where that is?" He asked. He had a friendly smile on his face and two dimples started to appear on his cheeks.

Helga took a look at his schedule. His next class was AP Physics.._Shit you have to be a genius to be in that class, _she thought. She started studying his schedule intently..AP Calc, AP Stats, AP World History, AP Expository Writing..After she realized what she was doing she shook her head and said, "Oh, room 336..I'm actually going to room 334, it's right next to 336. It's on the third floor."

"Oh, do you think I could maybe walk with you?" He asked. He was still smiling.

_Well at least the guy doesn't seem like a dumbass..I mean looking at his classes he seems like he has somewhat intelligence, _she thought to herself. "Sure." She replied and gave him a somewhat reassuring smile.

Keith smiled at her and said, "thanks."


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys, first off I would like to thank my reviewers for giving me positive feedback. I really appreciate it:) Second, I want to apologize for the late update. I'm doing this 5-week summer program at Berklee so I haven't really found time to work on this story. I'll try my best to update more frequently. I made this chapter a little more lengthy compared to my previous ones so that I could make up to you guys.. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this chapter and continue to give me more feedback! (By the way, I didn't have time to revise my spelling and grammar before I posted this, so I wouldn't be surprised if there are a few grammatical errors..I'll correct them once I come back.)**

TRRIINGGGGG!

Students bolted from their seats and hurried out of the classroom after the second period bell rang.

Keith had asked Helga to wait for minute because he had "something" to take care of. He walked up to Mr. Hodgkins and said, "Bye Mr. Hodgkins, I really enjoyed your class." _Why is this guy sucking up to him and why the hell am I waiting for him,_ Helga thought.

"Thank you! I'm more than glad to have you in my class, Keith. I can already tell that you and I are going to have a great year." Mr. Hodgkins patted Keith on the back and smiled at Helga. Helga smiled back..well at least she tried to. "Anyways good luck, Keith! I'll see you both tomorrow."

"Of course, sir." Keith replied.

As Helga and Keith made their way towards the door, Helga couldn't help but to notice that some of the students in the classroom, including Stila and Haley, were staring at them. Lila was too busy gathering her belongings to even notice them. This was the one of the first times Helga actually felt like she was the center of attention, but it was obviously because she was walking next to some strange _pretty boy_, which translated to, "an extremely attractive, model-like sex god" for the other girls.

Helga squirmed past a stampede of people in the crowded hallway with Keith following right behind her, and as she was walking, she saw several people staring at Keith with fascination. Their eyes were fixed on him. _Oh boy, not again,_ she thought to herself,_ these idiots act as if they've never seen a new student before. _Rhonda was having an intense conversation with Nadine, but once Keith walked past her, she stopped and examined him with her astonished eyes. Her mouth hung a tad bit open and her dark, smoky eyes looked like they were about to pop out. It was quite a comical sight. Helga turned around to see how Keith was reacting to all of this attention..After all, he was making it hard for everyone focus and stay on task. Keith seemed calm and composed. He didn't really let the attention get to him.

Since they both weren't talking, Helga felt a little awkward walking with him. She didn't bother to make an effort to start a conversation.

Keith broke the ice and asked, "So what's your next class?"

Helga was sort of startled by the question since she wasn't really expecting him to say anything. "Oh, I'm going to AP Bio." She replied.

Keith continued the conversation and said, "Oh that's cool, I took that last year."

Helga didn't know how to respond to that so she just asked, "Was it hard?"

"Sort of, but it was mostly memorization. Overall, it was a decent class. You should do fine." Keith gave her a crooked smile. She noticed that he had perfect lips. They weren't too big and plump, but they also weren't too thin and skinny..they were _perfect_, _a_nd they also complemented his strong, facial structure and prominent features. Helga looked away and started walking up the stairs..she didn't want to be mesmerized by his good looks just like the other girls.

Helga hated walking up the stairs of Hillwood High because they were very hazardous, especially when they were packed, and not to mention that she would always end up walking behind some slow poke. Another reason was because she was self-conscious and worried that she would trip and fall and somehow Arnold would be there to witness the whole incident. As she was walking up the stairs, she hoped that her backpack wasn't all up on Keith's face, but she didn't look back because she didn't want to make things worse by falling and landing on top of him. After both of them got to the top of the staircase on the third floor, Helga guided Keith towards room 336. The room was right around the corner.

"So there's your class. Are you all set?" she asked. She tried her best to sound nice and friendly. _This is something the old football head would do,_ she thought.

"Yes, thanks for walking me, I really appreciate it." Keith had a genuine tone in his voice.

"No probs." Helga replied dryly. As she was about to walk to her class, which was right next to his, Keith stopped her and said, "Hold on." Helga turned around to face him.

"Your class is right next door, right?" he asked, raising his defined brows.

"Mhm.."

"Alright..cool.." Keith had a playful smirk on his face. _This guy is weird,_ she thought.

Helga entered her classroom. She recognized some of the faces. Sheena was sitting in the front row talking to Sid. Sheena was still very tall, and she had long, straight light brown. She had some sort of hipster style going on with her long light green fabric skirt, a tie-dyed t-shirt, and a purple headband with white flowers. Sid on the other hand looked like one of those teenage bikers you see on television. He was wearing ripped jeans with a black studded belt, a gray t-shirt sported a black, leather jacket, and dark drown, leather Timberland boots. His hair was gelled back which made him look much older. _Is this dork even smart enough to be taking an AP class, _Helga thought to herself.

Helga took a seat in an empty desk in the back and took out her agenda book/student handbook, even though she wasn't planning on reading it. She wondered if Arnold would be in her Bio class, too, since she knew biology was one of his favorite subjects. She remembered that little ant project she had to do with him in the greenhouse during fourth grade and chuckled. _It's funny how time can change everything_, she thought.

Her teacher, Mr. Dupont entered the classroom. Mr. Dupont was a middle-aged man with frizzy, untamed gray hair. He was wearing thick, black-framed glasses and a white over-coat. Helga thought He was going for that _mad scientist _look. He was very impatient and restless. _If this is my teacher then this class must be a joke._

Helga heard two guys laughing outside the door. She looked up to see what all the commotion was about, and to her surprise, Arnold and Gerald were standing outside of the classroom having some sort of _hilarious_ conversation. Helga tried to make out their conversation, but the kids in the hallway were way too loud and noisy which made it impossible for her to hear anything, and the fact that she was sitting in the back of the classroom didn't help either. Arnold had his back to the door while Gerald was leaning against the wall. Gerald didn't have a tall Afro anymore; he switched it for a shadow fade haircut. This drastically changed his appearance. He wasn't the same skinny, tall hair boy that wore a red shirt with the number thirty-three printed on it anymore..This Gerald was much more stylish and suave. Before he started dating Phoebe, girls would swoon over him and desperately crave his attention. Helga tried to talk Phoebe out of dating Gerald because of his flirtatious behavior and popularity with the ladies, but despite her lectures, Phoebe decided to put Gerald's past behind her and start a "fresh, new relationship" with him, and surprisingly, it was one of the most serious, teenage relationships that Helga had ever seen. Of course every now and then girls would go up to Gerald and throw themselves at him, but soon enough they'd realize that he only had eyes for Phoebe.

Helga saw Gerald and Arnold doing their little handshake, which was kind of like their greeting as well as their farewell. Gerald gave Arnold a little slap on the back and left. Arnold turned around and ran his fingers through his blonde tufts. He had a dreamy look on his face, and he was smiling..._someone's in a good mood_, she thought. As Arnold entered the classroom, Helga started panicking. _Oh shit, I can't let him see me..He hasn't seen me all summer..it's going to be awkward as hell.._She covered her face with her student handbook and pretended that was reading it, which clearly didn't work because she heard a familiar, soft voice say, "Helga?"

_Dammit, great going Helga.._Helga looked up from her book. She saw pair of gorgeous, bright green eyes looking at her with surprise. She could feel her cheeks burning from embarrassment, but she tried her best to hide it. A nervous smile crept on her lips. "Oh hey, how's it going football head?" If there was one thing that Helga didn't stop doing, it was calling Arnold _football head._

Arnold had an amused look on his face. "I didn't know you were taking AP bio this year..whoa, I haven't talked to you all summer. How've you been?"

"Yeah, I needed a science credit, so I decided to take this..I've been all right. You?"

"Oh that's cool. Yeah, same here..so, did you do anything fun over the summer?"

"If you consider helping Bob with his new _cellphone/Bluetooth _empire and listening to Olga's endless stories about her charity trip to Africa _fun.._then yeah. Well what about you? Did you do anything _fun?_"

Arnold laughed at Helga's answer. "Oh, I feel ya. Yeah, actually I had a pretty busy summer. I went to San Lorenzo to visit my parents and ended up staying there for a month and a half, and after I came back, Lila took me to her farm and we stayed there for almost three weeks."

Helga clenched her teeth after she heard the name "Lila" come out of Arnold's mouth. "Oh, well sounds like you had a great summer." Helga added a sarcastic tone to her voice.

Arnold gave her a confused look and took off his backpack and placed it underneath the desk in front of her. "Well, at least we have a class together. We have a lot of catching up to do." He gave her a sincere smile before he sat down.

_Wow, he's actually glad that he has class with me..maybe this year will be different..maybe this year Arnold will see me more than just a friend or an acquaintance, but don't get your hopes up Helga.. _"Yeah, that's gr-"

She was cut off by . "Goodmorning cla-sss. My name i-ss Misss-ter Dupont, and I'll be your AP Biology teacher for thh-ee year. I hope you all had a wonderful ss-ummer. Anyway-ss I'm going to give you guy-ss thh-e syllabu-sss. Take one and pa-sss it down." _What a dweeb, _Helga thought to herself. spoke with a slight lisp; primarily pronouncing his S's and Th's sounds with a little more exaggeration.

Helga stared at the back of Arnold's head while was passing out the syllabuses. _He's soo perfect in every way with his beautiful, golden hair, his captivating, dazed green eyes, his dewy, sun-kissed skin, and his luscious red lips..if only he could realize that I'm the only one for him. Why Arnold? Why must you be so dense? Can't your stupid, oblivious football head notice that I'm madly in love with y-"_

Her thoughts were cut short after she heard a familiar voice say, "Helga? Helga?"

She instantly snapped out of it and looked up only to find Arnold staring at her with a concerned look on his face. "Are you okay? You seem kind of distracted?"

Helga started to get defensive, "Of course I'm okay, football head. I'm just a little disoriented, that's all. I didn't sleep well last night, and I'm still trying to get use to this new back-to-school routine. I don't even wanna be in this stupid classroom. Why do you care so much anyways?"

The worried expression left his face. "Oh, because I handed back the syllabus and you wouldn't take it, so I turned around and noticed that you were sort of spacing out, and I said your name a few times and you still didn't respond… so I was just wondering if everything's all right."

Helga blushed and took the syllabus out of Arnold's hand. "Oh..sorry. I'm just a little tired," she said, softly.

Arnold smiled and turned back to face the front of the room. _Great..now he thinks I'm crazy. _Arnold's personality hadn't really changed from fourth grade. He was still that optimistic, do-gooder that was concerned for the welfare of others.

After he went over the syllabus, passed out books, and collected the summer assignment, blabbed about random, non-bio related bullshit for the rest of the period. His bizarre attire and his flamboyant nature made it hard for Helga to take him seriously. His lisp didn't help either. She spent most of the class time scribbling in her notebook and staring at the back of Arnold's head. She started packing her things after she noticed that there was only one more minute left of class.

"Hold on cla-sss. Before you leave, I will pa-sss out your homework." _Great, the jackass is giving us homework on the first day, _Helga thought. "It'ss ju-sst a review packet to make sure you know ba-ssic biology. Thi-ss packet will help me determine whethh-er or not you belong in th-iss cla-ss. —TRRINNGGGGGGG—"No one will leave until I pa-sss thi-ss out." A few students groaned. "Sso i-ss everyone clear on thh-e ass-ignment?" Everyone in the class nodded. "Very well thh-en. I will expect you all to pa-sss thi-ss in by tomorrow."

_Finally, I'm outta here. _Helga let out an exhausted sigh and stood up. She adjusted her shirt and put her backpack on.

"So, what do you think about our bio teacher?" Arnold was grinning and anxiously waiting to hear Helga's response.

Helga snorted. "He's a complete dork..He wouldn't shut up about his stupid vacation at Angola or whatever."

Arnold laughed. "I think it was Mongolia. You're way off."

"Wow you actually paid attention.."

Arnold shrugged. "I think he's all right. He's kinda weird, but he seems pretty chill."

"Haha, yeah, especially with his little speech impediment."

Arnold jokingly pushed Helga. "Shh..he might hear you. It's not his fault."

"Oops.. you're absolutely right. Thh-i_ss_ i_sss_n't _ss_-omething to make fun of."

Arnold laughed once again, but this time it was a little louder. "Haha, you're terrible. Anyways, where are you going next?"

Helga unfolded her schedule. "hmm..AP expository writing. You?

"Government.."

"Oh, I had that last period..who do you have for a teacher?

" ."

"Oh, I have him..He's not that bad. If you're all nice and polite then he'll love you."

Arnold raised his brows. "Nice and polite ayeee..That shouldn't be a problem." He gave Helga a little wink, which made her insides tingle. _He's soo damn charming,,_

"Yeah, whatever you say, football head..Anyways, what the hell are we still doing here! We have two more minutes before the late bell rings..we're gonna be late for class!"

Arnold quickly glanced at the mechanical clock. "Oh shit..you're right." He slung his backpack over his shoulders and grabbed his books from the desk. "Do you wanna walk together?"

_OH MY GOD. He offered to walk me to class..well he asked if he wanted to walk with me which is basically the same thing..this must be my imagination. What are you waiting for Helga! Say YESS. _"Sure..I mean, whatever floats your boat."

Arnold smiled and looked directly at Helga. Her eyes met his gaze. Helga's cheeks flushed with heat as she stared into Arnold's tranquil, green eyes. Tiny beads of sweat started to form on the glands around her neck area as she felt her heart beating vigorously against her chest in an unsteady rhythm. _Oh shit..keep your cool Helga..take a deep breath..i'm not gonna faint, I'm not gonna faint, I'm not gonna-_

"ARNOLDD!" She heard an annoyingly sweet voice call his name. Arnold quickly broke eye contact with her and turned around. His eyes widened with excitement once he saw the auburn haired beauty that was leaning seductively against the door. She brought a warm, pleasant glow to his face. Helga was observing Arnold. He had an indescribable look on his face..Helga had never seen him look this _awestruck_ before. _This boy is whipped, _she thought to herself,_ little Ms. Perfect has him wrapped around her finger._ Helga gritted her teeth.

"Arnold! There you are! I've been looking all over for you!" Lila ran towards Arnold and wrapped her delicate arms around his neck, while he smiled at her with adoration like a lovesick bastard and slowly ran his fingers through her soft, voluminous hair. It looked like some gleeful, lovey-dovey reunion scene from a corny, romantic movie. Helga gagged at the sight. Lila went on her tippy toes and planted a soft, gentle kiss on Arnold's lips and pulled away, only to be pulled back up to a tighter embrace. Helga stood there awkwardly while the two resumed their passionate kissing. Her face fell with anguish. She could feel the back of her palms getting sweaty. Helga didn't even realize that she was crumpling up her schedule inside her fist. Her eyes started to get watery…_Come on Helga! Mooove. Why am I still standing here,_ she asked herself, but for some reason she was glued to the floor and she couldn't get herself to leave the torturous sight. She was heartbroken. It wasn't that she had never seen Arnold and Lila kissing before..she had, but she never saw them kissing right in front of her face. What hurt her most was that just when she thought her and Arnold had some sort of connection, Lila appeared, and he completely ignored her like she was invisible. She took a deep breath and tried to keep her composure. She felt a hot teardrop trickle down her cheek.._What the hell..why am I crying..Helga G. Pataki does not cry.._Helga wiped the teardrop with the back of her hand and sniffled.

"Helga?" she heard a deep, raspy voice call out her name. She looked up and saw a tall, breathtakingly handsome male standing at the door. _Keith? What is his ass doing in here?_ She thought. Even Arnold and Lila broke apart from their kiss after they were interrupted. They stared at the new student before them.

"Helga, what are you still doing here? I waited for you outside the classroom, but I didn't see you coming out. Is everything okay?" Keith looked serious as he studied her with his vibrant, hazel eyes.

Helga was confused. She didn't understand why Keith was waiting for her in the first place. He shook her gently after she didn't respond. "Helga, are you all right?" he asked, coolly. He bit the inside of his bottom lip, trying to hide his smirk, which didn't work because his dimples were starting to appear on his cheeks. It was enough to make any girl's ovaries explode.

Helga took a deep breath. "Uhh..Yeah.." she started, reluctantly. She looked around and realized that Arnold and Lila were still there, but they weren't embracing anymore. Their eyes anxiously switched from Helga to Keith to Keith to Helga, making sure they wouldn't miss either one's reaction. Helga felt uncomfortable with their eyes intently watching her. Keith noticed this, so he simply said "nevermind."

"What's your next class?" Keith didn't bother to wait for her to answer. He grabbed the schedule right out of her hand. He noticed that it was crumpled, but he didn't make a big fuss out of it, instead, he just raised one of his brows and gave her a puzzled look. Helga blushed. After he managed to unfold and flatten out her schedule, he said, "Oh, you have AP Expository Writing in room 206..So do I. What a coincidence. Come on, we might still be able to make it before the bell." With that, he grabbed her by the arm and led her out of the classroom. Helga managed to steal a quick glance at Arnold. His mouth was agape and his green eyes were wide with shock. Even Lila looked surprised. She had a slight frown on her face. Helga gave Arnold an uneasy smile and left.

Keith and Helga were practically running down the halls, trying to get to their class on time. Actually, it was more like Keith was running and dragging Helga along with him. Keith was still grabbing onto Helga's arm, but this time he was a little rough. Helga was having trouble keeping up with his speedy pace, mainly because she was still trying to intake everything that just happened. It was all happening way too fast. She couldn't put the pieces together. _Okay, first I was with Arnold and I was talking to him, then little came and ruined everything, then they both started to make-out, after that Keith came in and took me out of the classroom, and now I'm frantically running around the halls with him..WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ONN!_

"There's our class!" Keith yelled. He sprinted towards the door and pulled Helga along with him. Once they made it to the door, he quickly turned the knob and forcefully opened it, but it was too late because the bell rang. Helga's heart was thumping rapidly. She was panting heavily. She heard Keith say "shit" underneath his breath. Despite their tardy, they both timidly entered the classroom. Helga looked around and saw that everyone was organized and settled into their seats. She saw an elderly woman wearing a pink sweater in the front of the room. The woman had a stern look on her face, and she most definitely wasn't too pleased with their late arrival. _Crap, this must be our teacher..we're doomed, _she thought. She decided to apologize, but she was way_ too_ breathless to even speak. Right when she opened her mouth to say something, Keith cleared his throat and said, "Ma'am, Helga and I are extremely sorry for being late. Actually, truth is, this is my first year at Hillwood High, so I'm not really familiar with the routes around the school. I was having trouble finding my class, but Helga was kind enough to help me. Anyways, once again, we're very sorry..I hope you'll reconsider." With that, he flashed the most charming, Oscar-winning smile. Helga's jaw dropped. She looked at the woman in the front and realized that her frown faded into a warm smile. Helga sighed with relief.

"I understand. It's difficult being a new student. Why don't you both take a seat. Oh, and by the way, what's your name?" The woman was still smiling as she waited on Keith to answer.

"Keith." He replied as he was walked towards a desk in the second row.

"Nice name. I'm Mrs. Gibson." The woman was actually very pretty for her age. She had delicate features, and she was very soft-spoken.

"Nice to meet you, ." Keith said in an oh-so-charming way. Helga was amazed. Even though she thought he was a total suck-up, she had to admit that what he did was impressive. _How does he do it? _She thought. Keith signaled her to sit at the desk next to his and for some strange reason; she listened to him and sat next to him.

After they both settled into their seats, Mrs. Gibson started passing out the writing course book. While she was passing the books out, Keith tapped Helga's desk with his pencil to get her attention. Helga turned around to face him.

"So, who were those two kids in the bio room?" he asked.

"What?" Helga wasn't sure if she heard him correctly.

"You know that blonde guy and the girl with him..they were having a little love-fest." He gave her a little wink.

_Is he talking about Arnold and Lila? _she thought. "Oh…that was Arnold…and Lila." She said, hesitantly.

"Oh are they dating?"

"Umm..yeah..kinda." _Why does he give a shit, anyways? _She thought.

He stretched his arms and continued asking her questions regarding Arnold and Lila, "Are they your friends?"

"Not really..I mean, Arnold sorta is I guess, but not Lila.." she clenched her teeth after she said Lila's name. Keith seemed to notice this because he gave her a strange look.

"Don't mind if I ask you this but..do you have a crush on Arnold?"

Helga turned and looked at him with shock. _Did he really just ask me this? _Helga's heart rate was increasing rapidly. "NO! that's ridiculous.. Why would you think that..I don't like the football- I mean Arnold. why would you think that I had a crush on him?"

Keith was surprised by her reaction. "Whoa, calm down, no reason to get all defensive. I was just wondering because it kind of looked like you had feelings for him."

Helga started to lose her patience. "Well, I don't..so you can stop interrogating me.."

"Are you sure? I mean you looked crushed, pummeled, completely lost and miserable while he was kissing that girl, so I assumed that you had a little _something _for him. I mean it's very unusual for someone to act like that, unless they have feelings for the person." Keith smirked mischievously at her.

Helga was reaching boiling point. "OH YEAH! Well you don't know SHIT..so you can stop _assuming." _she whispered harshly.

Keith laughed. "You definitely like him."

"NO I FUCKING DON'T! WHY DON'T YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP?" A few students turned around to stare at her unstableness.

Keith started to look around worriedly. "Shh! Keep it down..you're making a scene..I wasn't trying to make you mad..no need to blow things out of proportion."

After she noticed that people were looking at her, she lowered her voice. "Look, you're the one who's blowing this out of proportion..not me."

"Listen..my intentions were not to get on your nerves..I was just wondering if you wanted to talk about it."

"I don't want to talk about _anything _with you..so you can mind your own god damn business, bucko."

"Okay, I understand if you don't want to talk about it..you don't have to if you don't, but I just wanted to let you know that I know how unrequited love feels..It feels terrible but it's not the worst thing that an individual can go through. We don't have to talk about it, but if you ever need someone to listen to you..I'm all ears." He gave her a heartwarming, dimpled smile and turned away.

Helga sighed. _What the hell is his problem,_ she thought.


	4. Chapter 4

**This chapter is sort of 'meh'..but I needed to update. I promise the next chapter will be much more exciting and less **_**bland.**_** Enjoy! **Oh, and for any of you that are concerned about Keith's sexuality..he's straight lol. I saw some reviews that were asking if he was gay, so I just decided to clear things up.****

Helga was barely paying attention to anything Mrs. Gibson was saying… or teaching. she honestly couldn't tell. Her thoughts were diverted and mixed with confusion and anger. She thought about what Keith had said. "I mean you looked crushed, pummeled, completely lost and miserable while he was kissing that girl, so I assumed that you had a little something for him." Those words kept replaying in her head, and for some reason, they made her insides churn, but at the same time, it slapped her back to reality. Those words made her realize that Arnold already had a girl that he was crazy about and that girl was not _her_ and it never would be _her_. She sighed heavily and looked over at Keith. He was chewing on his bottom lip and studiously taking down notes that Mrs. Gibson had written on the whiteboard. Helga knew she was going regret slacking off and not taking notes, but at the moment she was too invested in her own thoughts. _Am I really this obvious about my feelings for Arnold? _She thought. _How the hell did Keith find out..who the hell does he think he is anyways? Mr. know-it-all..He thinks he's much more superior than everyone else..ughh I can't stand him! _But then another thought popped into her head..she remembered what Keith said earlier during class. "We don't have to talk about it, but if you ever need someone to listen to you..I'm all ears." _Why is he being soo nice? _She thought. _Why does he keep talking to me like we've known each other for years or something..I mean the kid even waited for me after class..what the hell is his deal? _Helga concluded that Keith was a very strange, complex person and the only way she could figure him out is if she played along with his charming persona.

After the bell rang, Helga gathered her things and gently tapped Keith on the shoulder. She had to be smooth and play it cool.

"Hey Keith, I just wanted to say sorry for..uhh, being a little rough on ya..I understand that you're new and all and-"

"It's no problem..I shouldn't have asked you anyways. It's really none of my business, so if anything, I should be the one apologizing." He gave her a warm smile.

"Yeah..well it's cool.." _this is harder than I thought.._ "so, where are you going next?"

"Calc..you?" he asked casually.

"Sociology..do mind if I walk you to class? I mean since you are _new_ and all." She added a mischievous grin.

Keith smirked. "Not at all." With that, they headed out the door.

Helga's sociology class ended much quicker than she thought it would. She went down to the first floor to her locker to get her lunch. The first floor was almost empty since most of the students were already in the cafeteria. She spotted Nadine and Peapod kid having a conversation right next to her locker. Nadine and Peapod kid were known for having a bumpy relationship. They were always on and off. Peapod kid being the high-class, spoiled rich kid, and Nadine being the girl who had an unnatural obsession with bugs and other crawly wildlife creatures, it seemed pretty understandable for them to have several hindrances and barriers in their relationship. From the looks of it, their relationship seemed pretty peaceful at the moment since Helga saw Peapod kid kissing Nadine on the cheek. _Oh they better not go farther than this, _she thought. She decided to rush to her locker before they decided to suck each other's faces off.

Helga coughed rather loudly, which made the two instantly separate. "um, I'm sorry to interrupt but can I _please_ get to my locker." She said sarcastically with an annoyed tone. Nadine frowned.

"Oh of course..we're terribly, terribly sorry. Come on Nadine..we should get to the caf."

Helga snorted and fumbled with her locker combination. Once she unlocked her locker, she grabbed her lunch which was in a brown paper bag, and since Olga had packed it, she knew that it was something edible and not just a packet of individual crackers and shaving cream. She slammed her locker, making sure that it was shut properly and headed towards the cafeteria.

The cafeteria was packed and chaotic. Helga felt a bit constrained and overwhelmed by the noise level and echoes. She hoped that Phoebe had the same lunch as her. Senior lunches were split into two periods. Half of the students went after 3rd period and the other half went after 4th period. Principle Wartz decided that lunches would be more organized and orderly this way.

While Helga was looking around the cafeteria for Phoebe, she spotted Arnold, Gerald, Phoebe, and the basketball team sitting at a table near the vending machine. They looked rather amused. Helga smiled and just as she was about to walk towards them, she heard Lila giggling. She looked behind her and saw Lila and her posse walking towards the same table that Phoebe, Gerald, and Arnold were sitting at. Lila slammed her lunch tray on the table and sat right across from Arnold. Helga clenched her teeth and tried to control herself. She decided that sitting there wasn't such a good idea, so she turned around and looked for a vacant table. Luckily, no one at Arnold's table had noticed her because she was standing behind the vending machine, so she was able to leave easily without owing them an explanation. Helga walked towards the back of the cafeteria and sat at a table in the corner. There were few kids sitting there, but they were too consumed with their own conversation, so they didn't really care if she sat there. Helga didn't mind sitting by herself, she actually enjoyed it because it gave her more time to reflect. She took her turkey sandwich out the paper bag and took a bite of it. She wasn't really hungry because Olga's pancakes had contently filled her up. She didn't realize that she was spacing out until she heard a soft bang on the table. She looked up from her sandwich. It was Keith.

"Hey..i didn't know you had 3rd period lunch. I almost thought I'd be a loner." He let out a laugh.

Helga gave him a smile. She looked over at his lunch. He had a water bottle, a polished apple, and a wrap. He took a few sips from his water bottle and frowned. "Why aren't you eating?" he asked.

"Oh..i'm not really hungry. My sister kind of fed me a buffet this morning." She rolled her eyes.

"You have a sister?"

"Yeah, her name's Olga."

"Do you guys get along?"

Helga snorted. "Barely.."

"Why?"

"Well..we're really different. We have very different interests, personalities and shit. Plus, we have a huge age difference."

"Is she your only sibling?"

"Mhmm…do you have any siblings?"

He was rubbing his arm. "Um..yeah I have an older brother."

Helga took another bite of her sandwich. "Soo..do you guys get along?"

He sighed. "Well..we _did_, but now he's sort of.._changed."_

"How so?" she asked casually.

"Umm..well- he kind of..he has some issues- well actually.." Helga noticed that he was struggling with his words.

"You don't have to tell me if it's personal.."

"No..actually, I get sort of uncomfortable with this topic..My brother is a great guy really, but…I guess you could say he went on the wrong path."

Helga raised her brows. "What do you mean?"

"He's a drug addict.." he squeaked.

Helga swallowed. "Oh..I'm sorry.."

"No, it's fine."

"How is he doing?"

"He's in rehab..he's been there for the past two years.."

"Is he improving?"

"Barely.."

Keith's eyes were getting watery, but he acted like there was something in his eye to shield his emotions.

"You know…my mom is an alcoholic." Helga was surprised that she was getting personal with the conversation. "she's been battling it for years."

Keith gave her a sympathetic look. "I hope she's doing well."

"Oh don't you worry…she's doing _lovely." _She said sarcastically. "Anyways, let's move on from this topic."

"Alright..Oh! I saw that Arnold guy while I was getting my lunch. I sort of bumped into him..he seems like a pretty nice guy."

Helga's stomach did flip-flops after she heard Arnold's name. "Why what did he say?" she asked nervously.

"Nothing..he kind of just welcomed me to the new school and wished me luck." He took a bite from his apple.

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, he's your typical do-gooder."

"How long have you known the guy?"

"Since I was three."

"Are you friends with him?"

she took a few seconds to think. _Are Arnold and I friends?_ "Well..not really friends. More like friendly acquaintances." _Friendly? Yeah right!_

"Oh, cool."

TRINGGGGGGGG!

Helga looked over at her watch. "what the hell?! That was barely fifteen minutes."

"Wow..I didn't even get to eat my wrap."

"Well that's lunches at Hillwood High for ya." Helga wiped her face with a napkin and threw her trash away. "I'm going to French..it's room 109. Need me to walk you?"

"No that's fine..I'm going to room V115..it's a whole different direction."

"Oh okay..well good luck!"

"Yeah..i'll see you at the end of the day..unless we have more classes together." He winked.

"Yeah..yeah..alright see ya!" Helga walked towards the other side of the cafeteria to get to her class, but she felt someone roughly bump into her from behind. Somehow she managed to keep her balance. She was so ready to give this person a nice blow with Ol' betsy.

"Oh I'm so sorry, Helga..are you okay?" Helga recognized this husky voice. It was Arnold's.


End file.
